Nikita Season 3 Episode 18 – Broken Home

Title: Broken Home

Air Date: April 19, 2013

Synopsis: Nikita is strapped down, drugged, and subjected to some mind manipulation by Amanda. Alex is torn between helping the agents escape Division and realizing they might be taking things too far.

Wow. Talk about a whirlwind episode with everyone in the cast being affected.

Division. Michael is locked in a holding cell, Chris reveals to Michael that Alex was behind the coup. Alex is looking down at Ops as the agents are being handed new identity packages by Rachel. Birkhoff and Sonya are forced to process the bank transfers to new accounts for the agents. Sean Pierce tries to talk Alex in to retaking control of the coup. However, she is still confused by Amanda’s mind manipulation. Alex goes to Rachel and tells her they need to shutdown Shadownet so that Division can’t find them. Rachel sends Birkhoff to the server room to shut it down. Sean follows and questions what Alex is doing. Alex has him locked down with Michael.

Amanda’s Lair. Amanda is explaining to Nikita how she manipulated Alex’s survivor’s guilt into causing the coup at Division. Nikita is chained and then drugged by Amanda.

Division. Birkhoff is in a server room and states that Shadownet is shutdown. Chris asks, “It’s really gone.” Birkhoff replies, “Oh, it’s never going to be gone.” Then he does a Mr. Miyagi (from Karate Kid) impression (pointing at the computer terminal, “Shadownet not here.” Then points to his head and heart, “Shadownet here. And here.” Chris realizes that Birkhoff can always track them down. However he hesitates when he tries to shoot Birkhoff. And Birkhoff grabs the gun and shoots the guard then knocks out Chris. Then Birkhoff engages a firewall on the computer system preventing any further bank transfers.

In some corridor. Owen calls Amanda to let her know Division is locked down. Amanda tells him there is a security override for the elevators in the server room so he can get out.

Amanda begins her process on Nikita and sends Nikita into memories of her own past. Nikita finds herself in a different reality as a teenage Amanda. Major Collins, Amanda’s father, has just arrived home and asks her to set the dinner table. “In Geneva you demanded I tell you what made me. Be careful what you wish for.”

While Nikita is in the altered state Amanda continues to narrate the scene for her. She describes her childhood home as being ordinary and simple and some of the details appear as Nikita is looking around. Major Collins leaves to go get Amanda’s (Nikita) salad. Amanda appears in the chair in from of Nikita. Then Amanda explains that Nikita has free choice in this altered state and her own mind is filling in the details but, unlike the procedure on Alex, Nikita is allowed to stay self aware. Nikita hears a scream coming from the basement. She find a young girl locked in a room. The girl tells her to leave. Nikita promises to help her. “Daddy’s little princess! You can’t help me.” And Nikita is shoved back out of the room. Nikita soon finds out this is Helen, Amanda’s twin sister, and Major Collins is experimenting on her to develop treatments for PTSD. Believing that he can switch the soldier into an alternate state during war and then back without the trauma of war.

Division. Sonya explains to Rachel and Alex that a firewall just came up and she can’t do anymore transfers. Alex realizes it was Birkhoff, she and Rachel head to the server room. They find Chris waking back up. Rachel orders teams to sweep the compound for Birkhoff. Alex is troubled, knowing that Birkhoff wouldn’t have killed Vince without reason. But Rachel doesn’t care. Owen walks in. Alex pulls him aside and asks him to find Birkhoff before he gets killed. (I don’t think Alex knows Owen is working for himself at this point). Owen agrees to find him.

Holding Cell. Sean is talking to Michael. They begin to put the pieces together and know Amanda has manipulated Owen and Alex. And Michael realizes that Owen handed Nikita over to Amanda. Sean says, “I know you want to find your girl. But they only way you get to her is if I get through to mine.” Michael tells the nearby guard to get Alex, he has some information about the black box and the agent roster on it. The guard reluctantly calls Ops.

Nikita’s altered state. Major Collins returns and Nikita follows him down to the torture chamber. The Major shoves her back out of the room telling her that she’ll contaminate the study. Nikita tries to argue with him but can’t get through to him.

Division. Alex comes to the holding cell. Michael tells her about Owen having the black box and it has the Division roster on it that will expose the agents even if they escape.

Owen finds Birkhoff in the corridors. He introduces himself as Sam and wants Birkhoff to override the elevators for him. Sam leads Birkhoff to a terminal and shoots the two rogue agents guarding it. When Birkhoff overrides the elevators it also unlocks the holding cells and sets off an alarm. Sam (Owen) is caught off guard but Birkhoff tells him he can take the elevator now.

Holding cells. Sean and Michael overpower the guards and take Alex, kicking and thrashing, out of the room with them.

Nikita’s altered state. Major Collins is trying to talk to her about the importance of the experiment even suggesting she can assist him. Stating that when he succeeds Helen won’t remember any of the trauma. He hands Nikita some cash and suggests she go to the mall, then returns to the basement. Nikita, talking to herself, starts to see how Amanda was manipulated by her father and thinks that Amanda must have given up on her sister and chose her dad. “I won’t make that choice.”

Amanda’s lair. Amanda is sipping some tea, or maybe espresso, “When are you ever going to learn?”

Division. Michael and Sean are avoiding the rogue agents and Sean tries to get through to Alex, telling her to choose him or the mutiny. Sam (Owen) and Birkhoff happen into the same room. Birkhoff disarms Sam long enough for Michael to get a gun on Sam. However, Alex gets away. Birkhoff tells Michael to pull the trigger. Sam knows he can’t, “Because I’m the only one that knows where Nikita is.”

Amanda’s lair. Nikita is trying to get Helen out of the basement. Helen doesn’t believe Nikita (Amanda in the altered state) can help. The police won’t believe them. Helen explains that her father erased the documents on her so she doesn’t exist to the world. Helen is upset but ends up hugging Amanda and telling her how tired of the experiments she is. Then asks Amanda to kill her. “Please, make it stop.” The real world Amanda speaks to Nikita in the altered reality, “It’s not an easy choice is it? Because she really wants to die.” “So you killed her? Your own sister?” (Now they are talking in the altered reality.) “I did what I thought I had to do, but it’s your turn now.” Nikita replies, “I’m not going to do it.” Amanda explains that her father’s experiments never succeeded and Helen will carry around the damage to her psyche for the rest of her life. “Are you starting to believe me now? Not everyone can be saved.”

Division. Rachel is rallying the rogue agents against Birkhoff, Sean, and Michael with a shoot on sight order. Alex urges them not to cause more killing. Rachel turns to Chris who insists that Birkhoff started it by getting the jump on him (leaving out that he was about to shoot an unarmed Birkhoff). Sonya speaks out, refusing to believe it, but she is ignored. Alex warns Rachel about the black box. However, Rachel simply states, “It can burn down with the rest of this place. What? Did you think we’d leave it standing? You can’t save everyone Alex.”

Rachel and a few others go after Michael’s group. Alex sits down in the middle of Ops in tears.

Michael takes the black box from Sam. Birkhoff says he can hack the elevator to get them out but has to stay behind to make sure the others don’t lock the elevators down between floors. Michael doesn’t want to leave him behind but Birkhoff states he’s not leaving without Sonya. Sean tells Michael to go, “I’m not leaving Alex behind. I can’t let Birkhoff be braver than me.”

Sean defends Birkhoff’s position, during a gun fight, long enough to send Sam and Michael out through the elevators, separately as Owen was trying to get away from Michael. They surrender after Sam and Michael are out.

The rogue agents return Sean and Birkhoff to Ops. Birkhoff reveals that Chris tried to kill him in the server room. Alex is partly incapacitated as her internal struggles continue.

Rachel draws a gun on Birkhoff and Alex rushes her causing her to fire into the ceiling lights. Sparks and debris are enough distraction for Sean and Birkhoff to get away from their guards. A fight breaks out.

Sonya picks up a gun and shoots Chris who’s beating on Birkhoff. Sean calls to Alex warning her just as Rachel begins spraying the room with bullets. Alex calmly shoots her then drops the gun as if it was burning her. As the two factions of agents aim their guns at each other a bloody Birkhoff hollers, “Enough! It’s over, can’t you see that?” A rouge replies, “Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean we stay. You can’t kill all of us.” Birkhoff replies, “You want to go? Go!” The room gets silent as some agents drop their guns. “What are you looking at me for! I don’t give the orders around here. You want to stay? Stay! You want to go? Go.” The agents start to stir. Some setting their rifles down and walking away.

Sonya walks over to embrace Birkhoff. Alex looks around at the nearly destroyed Ops. Broken glass and bullet holes.

Nikita’s altered state. Nikita gets Helen and leads her out of the basement and up the stairs. As she heads toward the door, Major Collins comes down from upstairs and orders Helen back to the basement. Helen reluctant heads back toward the basement. Collins throws Nikita against the door. Helen walks back in with a kitchen knife and coldly slashes his throat. After he falls to the floor Helen stabs him a few more times until Nikita pulls her off. “I could have gotten us out.” Helen stabs her in the stomach. Nikita asks, “Why?” Helen replies, “Daddy’s princess has to ask why? Why I wanted to hurt someone who kept saying they were going to help me but waited and did nothing for years. You knew what was happening downstairs. But let me suffer. And why? Because I was born eight minutes later than you? I could have been you. I should’ve been you! Father did me a favor, because Helen doesn’t exist.” She lets down her hair, “But Amanda does.” Then looks into a mirror that shows the teenage Amanda beside Helen and their similarity. Nikita says, “You’re Amanda.” The current Amanda shows up in the altered state and sets fire to the house then kneels beside the dying Nikita, “I told you I was so much worse than all you bitches put together.” Then stabs her again.

Nikita wakes up in reality. “You were Helen. Your sister tried to help you and you killed her?” Amanda looks sad, “She tried to save herself. She couldn’t stand the guilt of standing by and doing nothing.” Amanda suggests to Nikita that Alex is her living proof that she can be redeemed, “But you can’t really save people can you?” Nikita is still distraught from the altered state and the realization that Amanda slaughtered her father and sister. Amanda states, “You had the freedom to make your own choices and the story ended up the same.” Nikita says the lesson means nothing but Amanda insists she will soon know the truth of it. Nikita believes that Amanda has done something more to her. However, Sam (Owen) enters the lair interrupting them.

Sam has the black box and wants Amanda to hold up her end of the deal. Amanda wants to finish with Nikita. Sam insists, “You’ve messed with enough people’s heads. We leave now or I’m putting a bullet in yours.” They are still arguing when Michael arrives and informs them he had a tracker on the black box. Sam and Amanda slip away while Michael releases Nikita.

Amanda drives away with Sam holding her at gunpoint.

Division. The remaining agents are cleaning up the dead bodies. Sean is injured. Alex sees he’s hurt and suggests he go to medical but Sean says he is okay. Alex starts to tell him that she shot Ryan but he interrupts her admitting he already figured it out. Alex is still struggling with the memory alterations that Amanda did. Sean collapses as Alex tries to help him to medical. Then he realizes he has internal bleeding from a gun shot and there is little hope. Sean makes her promise to find a way to get better. Alex calls for help but nobody is near. Alex tells him, “The thing that matters to me the most is you.” Sean looks up toward Ryan’s office, “Hey. This is where we first met.” They kiss. Sean Pierce is dead. Alex is in tears.

I wasn’t expecting Sean Pierce to be killed. Not much was happening with his character lately but, do we really need to torture poor Alex more?

Elsewhere, Sonya is zipping up some body bags when Nikita and Michael return with weapons drawn; not realizing what has happened. Sonya explains a dozen or so agents are left and tells them to go to Ops. They find Birkhoff kneeling near Sean’s body. He tells them it was Rachel. Nikita asks where Alex is. Birkhoff replies, “She said she was going to stay. She was waiting for you. When we found Sean here she was gone. Kept saying she was trying to save everyone. I guess in the end, she couldn’t save him.” Nikita states, “Not everyone can be saved.”

Michael, Birkhoff, and Nikita are looking over Sean’s body among the disarray of Ops.

So much happened this episode. Sam, formerly known as Owen, is with Amanda and apparently working on his own agenda. Ryan Fletcher is still in a coma. Danforth was recently killed and the President has apparently not checked on Division lately. From Sonya’s words apparently there only about a dozen remaining agents and the rest are on the run. Alex is still under Amanda’s altered memory process. Who knows what Amanda manipulated in Nikita’s brain at this time. Just about anything could happen at this point.

As for Amanda’s back story. It is certainly interesting and does give her some depth for the very twisted things she does. Though apparently her name is Helen instead of Amanda. I’ll just continue to call her Amanda unless they change something on the show. It has already been confusing with Owen Elliot changing his name to Sam Matthews.